STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES

Orientation

American College provides an orientation program before the commencement of the training course to cover issues such as:

• Information relating to studying and living in Australia, including visa conditions, attendance and participation requirements,
• Student support services available to students in the transition to life and study in a new environment,
• Legal services,
• Emergency and health services,
• Facilities and resources,
• Complaints and appeals process.

International Student Support

American College provides assistance to international students and their families, from arrival to departure. 

American College has an International Student Support Officer (ISSO) who is responsible for helping overseas student settle in to living and studying in Australia, the ISSO will make contact with overseas students immediately after their arrival in Australia and will provide assistance whenever necessary during your stay.

APPLYING FOR ADMISSION TO AMERICAN COLLEGE

Application Procedures/Entry Requirements

American College welcomes overseas students who are over the age of 18.

If you wish to apply to American College but you are not an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident, New Zealand citizen, or holder of a permanent humanitarian visa, you are considered to be an overseas student and you must apply for an overseas student visa from an Australian Embassy in your home country before leaving for Australia. 

At times the visa application can be a lengthy process so you should make your visa application early to ensure that you are able to begin your studies at American College on the commencement date.

Visas usually last for the duration of your course and often have the condition that you leave the country on the completion of your course, more information regarding visas and studying in Australia can be found at www.studyinaustralia.gov.au or www.immi.gov.au.

Eligibility

When assessing applications for entry into a formal course at American College a number of factors are considered.  Generally, applications must satisfy Academic and English language requirements.  American College reserves the right to accept or deny entry into a course.

Consideration for special entry into a course may be granted to a mature age student (generally over 18 years of age) who can provide evidence of prior work or life experiences in a field related to the course.  Applicants will be required to provide details of the nature and duration of the work undertaken, the level of responsibility and at least one reference from an employer.  Mature age applicants must also satisfy the English Language entry requirements that have been specified below.

All of American College’s CRICOS registered courses have specific entry requirements, these requirements are outlined in each courses program outline.  American College must see evidence of these pre-requisites before a student can enrol into a course.

English Language Requirements

For overseas students whose first language is not English you must satisfy one of the following English language proficiency requirements:

• Sound achievement or equivalent in Australian year ten English
• Sound achievement or equivalent in year ten English Communication
• The successful completion of an acceptable formal English course (not ELICOS) where the medium of instruction throughout the course was English
• An IELTS level of 4.5 or equivalent
• Completion of the American College proficiency test (administered free of charge)

 Academic Requirements

All American College courses have a specific academic entry requirement.  This requirement is that overseas students must be able to read, write and comprehend English to a level which will allow you to undertake and understand your chosen course.  To test this, a Language, Literacy and Numeracy needs assessment will be conducted before the commencement of a course. 

Credit Transfer/Recognition of Prior Learning

Course Credit is defined by the National Code 2007 as; ‘exemption from enrolment in a particular part of the course as a result of previous study, experience or recognition of a competency currently held.  This includes academic credit and recognition of prior learning’.

Students will be required to sign (or otherwise accept) the record of course credit.  Students will be given a copy of the course credit for their records and a copy will be kept in the student’s file.  If necessary, the duration of study will be adjusted accordingly.

By applying for recognition of prior learning and/or mutual recognition and provided that the RPL or Credit Transfer is granted, this will result in students being exempt from completing that subject and receiving course credit.

Applications for Credit Transfer or RPL MUST be done at the commencement of a course.  Exemptions will only be granted for those students who can show that they have successfully completed other studies.  For credit transfer these studies must be the same or the equivalent to the unit of competency that the student is applying for CT for.  Application can only be made with documentation translated into English.

American College will recognise the qualifications from other countries as long as they are the same or the equivalent of the Australian qualification. Students who have completed a qualification/component/unit of competencies of a qualification that comes within the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) deemed to be acceptable by American College, may also apply under this same process to have that recognised under the process of mutual recognition.

Exemptions are applicable only to the course in which the student is enrolled at the time of applying for exemptions.  If a student changes courses, exemptions granted will be reassessed to ensure that they are still appropriate.

If American College grants the student course credit which leads to a shortening of the student’s course before the student visa is granted, the Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) will indicate the actual net course duration for the course.

If the course credit is granted after the student visa is granted, the change of course duration will be reported to DEST via PRISMS within 14 working days after the event as specified under Section 19 of the ESOS Act.

International students and domestic students have the same process for applying course credit and will be asked at the time of enrolment whether they would like to apply for course credit and an application form will be made available.